The Golden Globe Award is an American accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign. The annual formal ceremony and dinner at which the awards are presented is a major part of the film industry's awards season, which culminates each year with the Academy Awards.[1]

In 1950, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made the decision to establish a special honorary award to recognize outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Recognizing its subject as an international figure within the entertainment industry, the first award was presented to director and producer, Cecil B. DeMille. The official name of the award thus became the Cecil B. DeMille Award.[5]

In 2009, the Golden Globe statuette was redesigned (but not for the first time in its history). The New York firm Society Awards collaborated for a year with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to produce a statuette that included a unique marble and enhanced the statuette’s quality and gold content. It was unveiled at a press conference at the Beverly Hilton prior to the show.[7]

Revenues generated from the annual ceremony have enabled the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to donate millions of dollars to entertainment-related charities, as well as funding scholarships and other programs for future film and television professionals. The most prominent beneficiary being the Young Artist Awards, presented annually by the Young Artist Foundation, established in 1978 by late Hollywood Foreign Press member, Maureen Dragone to recognize and award excellence of young Hollywood performers under the age of 21, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.[4][8][9]

The broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards, telecast to 167 countries worldwide, generally ranks as the third most-watched awards show each year, behind only the Oscars and the Grammy Awards. Until Ricky Gervais hosted the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards Ceremony in 2010, the award ceremony was one of two major Hollywood award ceremonies (the other being the Screen Actors Guild Awards) that did not have a regular host; every year a different presenter introduced the ceremony at the beginning of the broadcast. Gervais returned to host the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards in 2011, and the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in 2012.[10]Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards in 2013, the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards in 2014, and the 72nd annual Golden Globe Awards in 2015. The Golden Globe Awards' theme song, which debuted in 2012, was written by Japanese musician and songwriter Yoshiki Hayashi.[citation needed]

NBC originally had exclusive broadcast rights to the ceremonies, but on January 11, HFPA President Jorge Camara announced there would be no restrictions placed on media outlets covering the January 13 press conference, announcing the winners at 6:00pm PST.[11] As a result, E!, CNN, the TV Guide Network and KNBC-TV, the network's Los Angeles owned-and-operated affiliate, aired the 31-minute event, emanating from the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel live, leaving NBC to fill the hour from 9:00–10:00pm ET with announcements, made after-the-fact by Access Hollywood hosts Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell.[12] The remaining hours of programming, set aside for the ceremonies by the network, were filled with a special two-hour edition of Dateline, hosted by Matt Lauer, that included film clips, interviews with some of the nominees and commentary from comedianKathy Griffin and the panelists from Football Night in America.[citation needed]

The HFPA has had a lucrative contract with NBC for decades,[15] which began broadcasting the award ceremony locally in Los Angeles in 1958, then nationally in 1964. However, in 1968, the Federal Communications Commission claimed the show “misled the public as to how the winners were determined” (allegations included that winners were determined by lobby; to motivate winners to show up to the awards ceremony winners were informed if they did not attend another winner would be named). The FCC admonished NBC for participating in the scandal. Subsequently, NBC refused to broadcast the ceremony from 1968 until after 1974.[16][17]

The nominations for the 2011 Globes drew initial skepticism, as the Foreign Press Association nominated The Tourist in its Best Musical/Comedy category, despite the critical failures of the film and that it was originally advertised as a spy thriller. Rumors then surfaced that Sony, the distributor of The Tourist, had bribed Globes voters with an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas, culminating in a concert by Cher.[21]